Chapter 11: Shadow II
In a barren land veiled with pitch-black darkness, two individuals roamed around, searching for something or someone.
"No luck here too." Cassian sighed. His search for a shadow with more than ninety percent affinity was taking quite a long time. Thankfully, Butler Armes didn't question his intentions and just followed along.
'Should I just take the one with eighty-eight percent affinity?' He pondered, glancing at a swirling dark flame-like creature before him. He was tempted a little as even this one was quite a rare find.
'Nah, Father had a shadow with ninety-two percent affinity, despite the inability to sense shadow's affinity unlike me. I need to at the very least acquire one with more affinity than him.'
Yes, The current Emperor's Shadow had one of the highest affinity throughout the whole empire's history. It was mentioned that only the first emperor had a shadow with more than ninety-five percent affinity and Amelia too will have a shadow with a whooping ninety-seven percent affinity after her awakening.
"What's that?" He murmured arriving before an eerily silent isolated area. It was devoid of any life form and shadows.
At the center of the area, a dark mass swirled around grotesquely, its formless body flickering like a flame.
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: ??
Title: ??
Race: Shadow (Unawakened)
Age: ??
Energy Source: Mana
Elements: Darkness [Affinity: 96%]
Main Stage: ??
Sub Stage: ??
Rank: ??
---
Cassian's eyes widened at the mention of the shadow's affinity. He rubbed his eyes gently and rechecked the status screen, his gaze hovering over the elements section.
'A fricking 96% percent!! That's a jackpot.' Excitement swirled over his racing heart, reminding him that this wasn't any illusion.
With a massive grin plastered over his face, he approached the shadow, deciding in his heart that this was the one.
'Finally, I can leave this damned eerie place.'
'Hmm?!' suddenly a new status screen popped up, startling him. His vision instinctively landed on the screen causing his breath to fasten intensely. His body froze up.
'JACKPOT!!' Cassian screamed inside his mind, shocked by the stats presented before him.
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: ??
Title: ??
Race: Shadow (Unawakened)
Age: ??
Energy Source: Mana
Elements: Darkness [Affinity: 99%]
Main Stage: ??
Sub Stage: ??
Rank: ??
---
The shadow was blended with the environment so perfectly that even with his mana vision, he could sense it. Unlike other shadows that could be seen through his mana vision, this shadow was completely invisible.
Thanks to the system, he noticed it else he might have missed such a great opportunity without even realizing it.
The shadow with ninety-nine percent affinity hid behind the other shadow with ninety-six percent affinity, blending its aura perfectly with the latter's aura. Due to their aura's intervention, they were displayed as a single entity, allowing the former to escape any detection.
'You're mine!' He hurriedly approached it, following the status screen's projection.
Even after standing in front of it, he still couldn't sense it.
"Uncle Armes, How should I initiate the Shadowbound Contract?" Cassian's voice gleamed with excitement.
"It's quite simple. First, Channel your mana within your palm, surrounding it completely. Second, Approach the shadow and gently caress its body with your mana-ridden palm. The shadow will struggle initially but, after tasting your mana, it will hungrily devour it. The devouring continues for atmost five minutes until it's completely filled. During the devouring process, the contract is automatically canceled if you fail to provide it with mana.
Thankfully, we have a mana-recovery potion to help you with it. Finally, once the devouring is completed, you just have to bind the shadow with yourself using this token. You may begin any time."
Hearing the explanation, Cassian nodded his head. In the novel, The Shadowbound contract binding process wasn't mentioned properly so his knowledge was lacking. This explanation helped him understand the process.
"I will start…now!"
With the final words, he started channeling mana around his palm. This process was quite simple thanks to Cassian's memories inside his mind.
He swiftly coated his palm with his mana and extended forward, slowly approaching the shadow.
The shadows could run away during this process, causing the contract to fail automatically. Thankfully, Armes erected a barrier around Cassian, removing such a possibility.
He had already passed the Shadow token and mana-recovery potion to him, after ending his explanation.
Cassian palm landed on the dark creature's body, causing it to struggle instinctively. After a while, the shadow stopped shivering and started greedily devouring his mana.
The devouring process took longer than the expected time, thanks to the shadow's incredibly high affinity. Armes stood there dumbfounded, gazing at Cassian who had just gulped his third mana-recovery potion.
Normally a single potion was sufficient and in extreme cases, two potions were used. A third potion meant the shadow's affinity was higher than the ninety-five crossmark.
Armes's face brightened upon thinking about this possibility. Even the emperor himself had only used two potions but the crown prince had already finished his third.
"He would be incredibly happy after hearing this news. Well done, young prince." He murmured, a smirk appeared on his face as he imagined the Emperor's shocked expression.
Finally, the devouring process ended, leaving Cassian panting on the floor. He hurriedly clutched the token and gently tapped it on the shadow's body. A dark light pulsated from within the token, surrounding him and the shadow.
A pitch-black cocoon formed around the shadow, enveloping it completely within itself.
Cassian too had a dark tattoo slowly forming on his forehead. Unlike a typical tattoo, this one felt illusory and mysterious.
crack crack
Various cracks appeared on the cocoon's surface, spreading like spiderwebs. It slowly broke apart, revealing a boy inside.
The boy looked like Cassian's doppelganger with only some changes in its physical features. Unlike Cassian's golden hair and eyes, The shadow had deep black hair with matching color eyes. Even it's skin were pitch black contrary to Cassian's smooth white skin.
However, the handsomeness hadn't decreased despite the changes in the physical features. The shadow still retained Cassian's handsome face, his perfectly toned body, and his incredible strength.
Yes, it shared ninety-nine percent of his strength with only a one percent difference.
Now, you might be wondering what's so special about a shadow. Yes, it's able to share its contractor's strength and grow alongside them but, it would still be defeated against a powerful foe. Due to their affinity against darkness, they might be able to surprise their opponents but such petty tricks don't work on the truly strong ones.
The answer was an ability called [Shadow Calling]. This single ability was so overpowered that it would be immensely helpful for him during his journey.
The [Shadow Calling] ability allowed the shadow to summon another shadow using the Shadow Land as a medium.
Yes, it could summon shadows and wasn't limited to the shadows from the Shadow Land. His shadow could literally summon Alexander's shadow using Shadow Land as a medium. Since all the shadows originated from the Shadow Land, they have strong ties with it. They could easily teleport to and fro from the Shadow Land.
Sadly, this overpowered ability had a one-month cooldown but it was still overpowered.
The dark tattoo had also completely etched itself on Cassian's forehead. He lifted his head up and gazed at the shadow with unbound excitement.
"From now on, your name will be Leon." His deep voice resounded within the shadow's ears. It instinctively stood on one knew and accepted the bestowed name.
"Status"
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Cassian von Luminaire
Title: Crown Prince of the Luminaire Empire
Race: Human (Awakened)
Age: 16
Energy Source: Mana
Main Stage: Growth
Sub Stage: Starseed
Rank: Initiate
Elemental Affinities
Lightning
Light
Skills
Swordplay (Basic): Proficient in one-handed and dual-wielding techniques.
Martial Arts (Intermediate): Proficient in boxing techniques.
Court Etiquette (Advanced): Expert knowledge of royal protocol and diplomacy.
Mana Manipulation (Basic): Control and refine mana for efficient energy use.
Equipment
Crown Prince's Robes: Increases Charisma and offers minor mana regeneration.
Luminaria Pendant: Enhances Light elemental abilities and protects against minor curses.
Spatial Ring: Provides a 100 cubic meter space capable of storing non-living items and artifacts.
Star System Features
Inventory: [0/10 Slots Used]
Quests:
[Active] Awaken the Starseed: Progress to the next stage of power. Reward: Unlock Advanced Elemental Skills.
[Active] Cure Seraphina's Curse: Lift the soulbound curse and free Seraphina's soul. Reward: Unlock Advanced Sword Techniques.
[Locked]
[Locked]
Pets
Leon (Shadow)
---
The 'Shadowbound Contract' Quest had vanished from the quest section and a new pet section had appeared beneath it.
Curious about the new feature, he pressed on the pet's name.